The Seeds Of Doubt
by firetiger3
Summary: There was no such thing as a slow day in any hospital, and when the ambulances stop rolling in new patients, Sakura decides to take matters into her own hands. With a group of loyal Doctors and rogue Dispatchers at her side, she takes it upon herself to take on the Akatsuki, a Terrorist Organization that lies at the root of it all. One patient at a time.


Full Summary: As a Doctor, Sakura didn't ask questions. She did her job, and that was it. There was no such thing as a slow day in any hospital, and when the ambulances stop rolling in new patients, Sakura decides to take matters into her own hands.

"We've just received word that ambulances have been given the order to cease picking up patients!"

"What!? That's impossible!"

"Sakura, stop, there's nothing we can do now."

"Look, Ino. You're either with me or against me. I don't know about you, but I'm a Doctor, and it's my job to save lives!"

With a group of Loyal Doctors and Nurses, and a few rouge Dispatchers by her side, Sakura takes off, doing her job, but this time, the seeds of doubt only sprouted into which she has never ventured.

The Hospital Sakura and all the others work at has a few branches, I won't go into detail, but that will explain the diversity of the Medical Professionals that will be included in this story.

Also, I know I haven't included everyone you would have suspected, the medical professionals and the main characters. I'm sorry, I have other plans for them, though, so don't you worry!

There will be a few medical terms you may not know, there will be a list included for every chapter for you to reference. See bottom of the page since I don't want to spoil anything.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

It started off as any normal day, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The sky was clear as it always seemed to be, the school bus across the street was just rolling in to pick up the kids for yet another day of school, and the family of blue jays living in the dogwood right by her bedroom window was chirping rather happily. Everything seemed right, and yet just little bit off.

Sakura sat in her bed for a while after waking up, trying to decipher just what it was that made that certain day seem so off. But when she found there was nothing wrong, she, albeit a little reluctantly, forced herself out of bed to start the day anew. Brush teeth, change, eat breakfast, drive to work, the usual morning activities. It was all the same, the same routine over and over, it was simply natural now. Sakura couldn't tell any difference in, well, anything!

The radio of her car was turned to a news station, rambling on about some new threat. Sakrua bit back the urge to scowl distastefully, it was always over-exaggerated. Ten wounded would be portrayed as ten deaths, and besides, the last thing she needed on that particular day was news just to drag her down. Before any more details could be spilled, she turned the station to a favorite of hers, and just her luck that one of her favorites was beginning to play. But if Sakura had just continued to listen, perhaps she would have heard the urgent warnings of a rather new Terrorist Group that just so happened to be in the neighborhood.

* * *

It wasn't until she arrived at work that she found the rather odd thing that had been bothering her all morning. The Hospital was oddly quiet, something which it never was, there was always someone running from room to room shouting, or another patient being wheeled in by the paramedics. At least there was usually something happening, a phone urgently ringing or a newborn baby crying, but there was only calm, collected talk.

It was strange, really, to see everyone just hanging around, casually talking to each other and sipping coffee, or whatever they usually drank. A few Receptionists had taken up a game of Poker with lollipops as chips while everyone else seemed to group off, conversing lightly with each other.

Sakura couldn't help but frown slightly, there was always someone to help and lives to save, and after all, there really was no such thing as no injuries or casualties in a day. What were they all doing just sitting around here like it was nothing? Someone else had to know what was going on, why nothing was happening at all.

"Pig," She tapped the shoulder of her best friend, "What's going on here? Where are all the paramedics, the patients?" It wasn't an understatement that she was really freaking out, as anyone would when they hadn't a clue what was going on, but even so, was she overreacting maybe in the slightest?

Ino frowned and grabbed Sakura's shoulders, "Whoa, calm down there, Forehead. Didn't you hear the news this morning? They've called everyone to tell them not too long ago." After receiving a rather confused stare, she continued. "We've just received word that ambulances have been given the order to cease picking up patients!"

"What!? That's impossible!" Sakura stood with her mouth agape, not believing what she had just heard. She had never even heard something remotely close to this type of situation, and all of a sudden, just out of the blue, this!? "Think of all the lives that could be lost, Ino! There's always someone in danger, or needs medical treatment, or... or… I don't know!"

A silence followed, only the soft chatter of the others that occupied the main lobby. Suddenly, Sakura shook her head. "No… I refuse." Her point was only emphasized by clenched fists that lay by her side and the slight tremble of lip to express her emotions clearly.

"What? Sakura, what are you talking about? Don't you get it? We can't do a damn thing about it, they're our superiors, we have to listen to them, or else we'll lose our jobs!" Ino, too, was now frantic, what her friend talked about was crazy, mad, even! Refusing anyone who was above their way in any way, shape, or form was a one way ticket to unemployment.

"No, don't you get it Ino? All these people, they need us! This is the exact reason we went into this profession in the first place, don't you remember? We made a promise! Back in the very first day of college, that we wouldn't give up, that we would save people's lives, not just… Just sit idly by and watch them rot away before our eyes! It's not about the money, or whatever profit!" With a sneer, she turned away, not trying to hide her blatant disgust.

That was the whole reason the two had even entered the Medical Field. Both had talked about it for as long as their friendship extended, which neither could remember the beginning of. At first, it had been somewhat of a joke, just as how all children wanted to be President or an Astronaut, but as time went on, and the probability of going to college became very real, it wasn't a joke anymore.

Sakura suddenly wheeled around to face Ino again, closing the gap between them in a single step. "Look, Ino. You're either with me or against me. I don't know about you, but I'm a Doctor, and it's my job to save lives!"

It took Ino a second to reply, but when she had her mind set, her gaze hardened. "Get away from me, you crazy bitch!" she screamed, pushing her friend to the floor, then stumbling back and brushing nonexistent dust off herself. With her nose turned upward, she glared fiercely at Sakura, and letting out a snarl of hostility, she sneered, "Don't think you're so above the rules, Forehead. If anyone finds out about this, you'll be dead meat. So excuse me if I don't quite feel like losing my job over some people I don't even know." She turned away, head held high, and walked right out the front doors.

Of course, at this point, their argument had escalated to the point where it had captured the attention of almost everyone in the room. Sakura sighed deeply and hauled herself off the linoleum, brushing loose strands of hair behind her ears as she did so. She didn't remember the last time the two of them had an argument of such a scale, she honestly had no idea quite how to react.

They did, indeed, have their small little spats every now and then, though it was always over trivial matters, and never ended up with serious consequences. In fact, the last time something even remotely similar had happened was in the second grade, over a boy. One whom they managed to miraculously stay in contact with even today. (Actually, that was a rather blatant lie. They had lost contact a few years ago, and even though none of them changed phone numbers, none bothered to keep up their friendship.)

But Sakura wouldn't let that stop her, perhaps the one person she thought she could rely on had ran out on her, she still had her pride as a Doctor, and her on goal as such was to save lives, no matter the circumstances.

Suddenly, as is she just became aware of her surroundings, Sakura turned towards her co-workers with a falsely saccharine smile. "Now then, you've all heard the conversation, haven't you? And you lot work in the Medical Department so you must have at least a little bit of brains in those cute little skulls of yours. You've pieced together what I've been getting at, hopefully. But the question still remains, how many of you are dedicated to your work? I'll be waiting outside for your answers."

She practically skipped out, yanking the Master Key off its place at the front desk, leaving a room full of shocked and speechless Medical Professionals. Not everyone could say they did the same. Digging around the rather oversized pocket of her lab coat, she found her phone among the rest of the rubbish that managed to find its way in there.

Scrolling through a long list of contacts, Sakura grinned as the screen revealed a very old and dear friend of hers. There was no hesitation as she quickly dialed the number, bringing the phone up to her ear with a grin plastered on her face. "Hey, yeah, it's me, Sakura. I need to call in a favor…"

* * *

It turned out not very many people were really all that dedicated to saving people's lives as Sakura had first hoped. To be fair, she hadn't expected that many people to show up in the first place, but out of the many people employed there, this was just ridiculous!

But, after a quick scan over her new crew, Sakura decided that perhaps it wasn't as hopeless as she had thought. The people that had joined her were some of the most dedicated people she knew, hard-working and determined, just the type of people she liked.

First, Hyuuga Hinata, the Heiress to a rather prominent Corporation that specialized in Optometry and Ophthalmology as well as its products. While she did not really have to work, since the Company that her Father ran made well into the billions, Hinata detested the idea of making profit without doing any of the work. She was a determined girl, and had proudly earned her Bachelor's in Ophthalmology and considering returning for her Master's. Also very independent, she moved out of her Father's Mansion and decided to support herself until the time came where she would have to take over.

Along with the Hyuuga Heiress came her cousin, Hyuuga Neji. He was always overprotective of his younger cousin, it wasn't a surprise he worked in the same place as her. But, instead of being an Optometrist as many would have suspected, he was an EMT, which, given, wasn't really all that surprising. He did well in stressed situations, able to keep his calm even when it seemed impossible to do so. Because of his chosen profession, he would never really be a part of the Hyuuga Corporation, but then again, his close ties to Hinata ensured that he would always be welcome and taken care of.

And then there was his partner, Hatake Kakashi, a Paramedic. A perverted man with mismatched eyes and a tendency to be late. This behavior would be, in other situations, inexcusable, but due to the fact he excelled at his job, this was often overlooked. There was only thing that he wasn't late for, and that was for emergency calls. He refused to let anyone die as long as it was he was at the wheel, it involved a long backstory, and that was always for another day. Though one more quirk about him was the medical mask he always seemed to be wearing. It was meant only for sick patients and surgeons, but he was rarely seen without it.

Next was Nara Shikamaru, a Psychiatrist that was as lazy as could be. Though he had a rather high IQ Score, it was almost impossible to prove thanks to the fact he would rather sleep and watch the clouds than anything else. But whenever he was doing something rather than lazing around or sleeping or even doing his job, he was playing Shougi. It was rather surprising that he had shown up, actually, the man seemed to be always doing everything besides what he was paid to do. But there was no arguing that he did get his job done, no matter how long it took in between his cloud-watching sessions.

Sai was a Trauma Surgeon who had no last name, or at least, never cared to reveal one to the rest of his coworkers. His lack of social interaction in general made him a little awkward to talk to, especially with his tendency to give others rather insulting nicknames. If he hadn't become a Trauma Surgeon, he would have certainly have been an artist. He most definitely had the talent, and not to mention the speed at which he was able to produce artwork was astounding. The small book he carried around with him was filled with his creations, but he was the only one to have seen the contents. He was also of the emotionless sort, putting on a fake smile more often than a real one, it was often talk of the break room as to what his real self was like.

The Inuzuka Siblings were also there, both Veterinarians of some sort. The oldest, Hana, was a Small Animal Practitioner, while her brother worked as her assistant as a Veterinary Nurse. The younger, Kiba, was rather rowdy and rambunctious, especially in comparison to his sister, who was rather laid back. Both, of course, loved animals, but especially dogs, which was a trait common in their whole family. And though the two specialized in small animals, i.e. dogs, cats, and the like, their own dogs were anything but. Akamaru was a large white mutt, since there was a lack of a better word, strong enough to carry at least two full grown men on his back. The Three Haimaru Brothers, grey huskies, were all the same, in both looks and in their names. They were almost as big as Akamaru, if not just a tad bit smaller. These Three belonged to Hana, while Akamaru belonged to Kiba.

Last, but certainly not least, was a quiet man, Sabaku no Gaara. With bright red hair and light green eyes, he certainly did stand out. Another prominent feature of his was the Kanji tattooed on the upper left side of his forehead. He never said anything about it, but then again, no one bothered to ask him about it either. After all, Gaara was an intimidating man, he was especially known for his glare, strong enough to scare even the most stubborn patients into submission. But besides being able to instill fear into almost everyone he met, he was also good at his profession as a Cardiothoracic Surgeon. And yet there was also his, well, bloodlust. He seemed to enjoy the sight of blood, any but his own, for that matter. Truly mysterious, it seemed most mysterious that he had indeed shown up.

There were nine of them total, and the only good thing about their rather small numbers were the variety of Medical Professionals they had at hand. There were no over lapses, including herself, a General Practitioner.

Well really, she had no right to be disappointed, at least there were people there, and it would be a major disaster if it had been just her. Sakura smiled as she glanced over them again and nodded. They would do, especially since she had been so lucky enough to get the particularly skilled ones.

Sakura coughed lightly, gaining the attention of those who stood in front of her. "Well, I'm glad you're all here, and that means you have a faint idea of what I plan to do. This," she laid a hand on the pristine Ambulance that was parked behind her, "is going to be home for the next few days. We'll be traveling around helping those who have been injured, or are sick, and need our help. It's not going to be easy, and there's probably a good chance you won't exactly be safe either, so if you have any oppositions, I suggest you leave now."

A few moments passed, and Sakura was elated to find not even one of them budged from their spots or looked as if they were seriously considering it. "Great! Let's hit the road, people, we have a job to do!"

As she turned to enter the large vehicle, the phone in her pocket began ringing. She fumbled around for it before managing to find it and hit the answer button.

"Hey, Naruto, what is it?"

"_I managed to make a few, er, calls, like you asked, and I think we can make this happen. But, it's going to have to happen under the radar. Turn the Ambulance radio to Channel 1, we rarely use it, so no one else is going to be on the network."_

"That's great! I can't thank you enough for this, I definitely owe-"

"_Don't even worry about it, Sakura-chan! The people here are as dedicated to this as you are, they'll be happy to help. Oh, and speaking of help, calls are flooding in. I'll send the closest locations to you, and we'll work from there after that's finished."_

"Hey, don't hang up on me, I have a few things I wanna talk about. I want answers, and you know how I feel about being left in the dark. Anyway, hold on a second." Sakura lifted the phone from her ear and nodded her head towards the Ambulance. "Everyone, climb in, we have our first patients, and time waits for no one!"

* * *

**In order of appearance:**

**Optometrists treat visions problems by first identifying the problem, then prescribing glasses, contacts, or eye treatment/therapy.**

**Ophthalmologists are like Optometrists, but specialize in eye diseases. Not all Ophthalmologists are trained in eye surgery.**

**EMTs, or Emergency Medical Technicians, work with another EMT or a Paramedic. They are the ones driving the Ambulances in response to emergency calls. They provide First Aid to victims on the spot before transporting them to the hospital for further care.**

**Paramedics are more skilled EMTs. They have a wider range of medicines they are able to prescribe, and are trained for longer in comparison to EMTs.**

**Psychiatrists are a type of Physician that specialize in mental illness, they are able to prescribe a very wide arrangement of medicines to treat their patients.**

**Trauma Surgeons specialize in Traumatic Surgeries such as injuries from car crashes, gun wounds, and the like.**

**Small Animal Practitioners are Veterinarians that specialize in domestic house pets, like dogs and cats.**

**Veterinary Nurses are assistants to Veterinarians.**

**Cardiothoracic Surgeons specialize with the heart and lungs, but also other areas in the chest. Some specialize in one or the other, but others specialize in both.**

**General Practitioner is the one you see when you visit the Doctor's Office. They're commonly known as "Family Doctors". Their services are not limited to age or gender. They do not specialize in a particular region of the body, they are trained to give healthcare to most everyone.**

Well, I hope you liked the first chapter! Don't worry, some other characters will be introduced as the story progresses. The second chapter is already in progress, so hopefully I can wrap that up sooner than later, but I make no promises.

Sneak Preview? Of course you can have one!

_**He simply shook his head and shut their eyelids, partially to announce their deaths, but also to pay final respects to them. They deserved it.**_

_**Horrid scream were heard from a smoking car, half buried in a broken wall of the house. The two doors facing closest to them were barely hanging on their hinges, and a trail of blood led from the backseat to one of the corpses.**_

"_**Don't just stand there and gawk, dammit! Help me!"**_

Of course, these aren't all in order, what fun would that be? Well, it's goodbye for now!

firetiger3


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